GDS International - Next - Generation - Retail - Summit - US - 4

1

The 13 website testing wins in this

eBook have made our client

s

$ 19,286,521

in projected an

nual revenue

web: monetate.com • phone: 1.877.666.3828

1. Brand Badges Boost Revenue

Sometimes online shoppers need a little push to make a purchase. Drawing

attention to popular brands is a proven way to peak an online shopper’s interest --

and encourage sales.

It's not about badging ALL brands. Just the ones that have some kick to them.

One client asked Monetate to slap a “Wind Stopper” badge on a line of jackets, and

they saw a projected annual revenue of $2,684,000.

Of course, you don’t want to go ahead and throw a badge on everything! That’s

why Monetate’s ability to test is so important. We give you the data that makes it

easy for you to make the right decision about which brand to badge.

2

WPwhitepaper

Brand the badge


2. Cart Messaging Changes EverythingWhen it comes down to it, an online retailer’s Cart page is perhaps the most

important for its business. And there are a lot of things that can be done with it to

improve the customer experience.

In one recent campaign, Monetate

helped a client decide exactly which

features to add by running an A/B test

on its Cart pages.

Version A displayed the site’s

standard cart summary.

Version B included added

reassurance above the cart summary.

This reassurance took the form of a

small box that appeared above the cart

summary and order total, and stated

the site’s 100% Guarantee and “no

questions” return policy.

It wasn’t hard to tell which Checkout

strategy made more sense. Version B yielded a 6.8 percent average order value lift

and a revenue impact of $63,670.

3

WPwhitepaper

100%Guaranteed

No questions askedunlimited return policy


3. Live Chat Converts Better

Live chat solutions promise to better meet customer needs and thus increase

conversion, average order value and, ultimately, sales. As testament to this fact,

live chat vendors have commissioned study after study proclaiming the benefits to

using their solutions. But are these studies correct even with the obvious bias?

Does live chat actually make a positive impact?

One of our mid-sized ecommerce clients decided to put live chat to the test. They

used Monetate technology first to integrate the live chat solution, and then to run

an A/B test across their entire retail website, testing the efficacy of the soltion.

In the end, live chat was a winner. Version B, which included the chat widget,

increased Average Order Value by 3%, earning our client over $20,000 during the

duration of the test, and over $130,000 in projected annual revenue. Not bad, for a

little live chat widget.

4

WPwhitepaper

Lets chat


4. Button Messaging MattersThe right combination of words can pack a lot of punch. And when it comes to E-

commerce, the perfect turn of phrase can inspire more people to buy.

One apparel retailer used Monetate technology to test for just the right wording to

use on its website’s checkout button. A simple A/B test gauged the effectiveness of

the phrase “View Cart” versus the power of the phrase “Start Checkout.”

There proved to be some magic behind the phrase “Start Checkout.” After three

weeks of testing, the “Start Checkout” version of the button earned our client over

$17,000, with projected annual revenue over $532,000, proving that Monetate can

help you find the best way to inspire your customers to buy.

5

WPwhitepaper

VIEW CART

START CHECKOUT

version A

version B

Inspire your customers to buy


They really like us!

5. Appreciate Your Fans

Monetate makes online marketing initiatives happen, whatever they may be. When

one of our clients wanted to specifically acknowledge visitors to its website who

had clicked through Facebook to get there, we implemented a Facebook

Consistency Campaign.

For every visitor who came from Facebook, the apparel retailer’s homepage

boasted a Facebook-relevant banner: “We’ve got more of what you ‘Like.’”

6

WPwhitepaper


In addition to putting the Facebook Echo into practice on the site, Monetate

assessed the tactic’s effects on shopping behavior and revenue. The verdict? A 118

percent conversion rate lift. With Monetate, your creativity gets rewarded.

7

WPwhitepaper


6. Faceted Navigation: A Customer Favorite

Searching through pages of sale items online can be a grueling process for

shoppers trying to save a few dollars. Faceted navigation makes it simpler for them

to zero in on the products they love at a reduced price.

8

WPwhitepaper

Above: the page WITHOUT faceted navigation


There is no doubt that this technology benefits customers. More importantly,

Monetate ran a test for one of its clients, a major apparel retailer, to determine how

valuable faceted navigation is to them.

The test found that the technology produced over $90,000 in incremental revenue

during the test itself ... and produced a projected annual revenue of over $4 million,

with a conversion rate lift of 2.32 percent.

9

WPwhitepaper

faceted navigation


7. Free Shipping Helps Customers Buy

Online retailers need to know which of their promotions really work. With free

shipping, the question usually becomes whether or not the increase in sales will

pay for the cost of the free shipping. That’s where Monetate comes in. It allows

clients to customize aspects of the free shipping promotion based on a shopper’s

distance from the warehouse or location within a particular region.

After installing a “Free Shipping” badge on images of certain products for an

apparel retailer, Monetate’s technology quantified just how lucrative that ubiquitous

little phrase has the potential to be.

The free shipping initiative yielded a projected annual revenue of almost $4 million

and an average order value lift of 12.29 percent after one week of testing.

And with Monetate’s ability to offer reduced or free shipping for a limited amount of

time, on specific purchases, on orders over a certain amount, and so on, the “Free

Shipping” strategy just became a lot more interesting.

10

WPwhitepaper

With Monetate technology, the client was able to dynamically add free shipping offers below the product thumbnail.


8. Predictive Search Is Predictively Positive

Thanks to Google, most consumers are familiar with predictive search.

By providing suggestions that drop down from the search bar, Predictive Search

technology helps consumers find what they’re looking for more quickly, and it can

alert them to items that they didn’t even know they were looking for in the first

place.

Yet, most internet retailers are way behind the curve in this respect. Not only do

they not offer predictive search to their customers, but they probably don’t even

know it’s worth implementing. Thankfully, Monetate can add predictive search to

any site in seconds. For example, when Monetate implemented a Predictive

Search function for one of their clients, the retailer’s revenue per session increased

8.71 percent over a 30-day period. Predictive Search earned the company over

$21,000 in incremental revenue during that time.

What’s more, our client came away with a projected annual revenue of almost $3

million from that one little change. Predictive Search fosters a shopping experience

rife with potential -- both for your customers, and for your bottom line.

11

WPwhitepaper

Predictive Search is simple and can earn retailers additional revenue.


9. Always Test Your Pricing

There’s more than one way to say the same thing. The question we’re interested in

at Monetate is “Which approach yields the best sales results for E-commerce

companies?”

In this case, we helped a clothing retailer decide how exactly to articulate the sale

price of an item on its website, because, as it turned out in the test, that makes a

difference in terms of conversion rate, new customer acquisition rate, average

order value and revenue per session.

12

WPwhitepaper

Whats the best way to show the price?


Using Monetate software, the retailer tested how three slightly different ways to list

an item’s price affected the bottom line.

Version A Version B Version C

$22.50 USDnow: $11.00 USD

Was $22.50 USDToday $11.00 USD

Today $11.00 USDSave $11.50 USD

Upon its completion, the test found that version B was most profitable, yielding $2.9

million in projected annual sales and a 6.24 percent revenue per session lift. The

conversion rate lifted 3.39 percent, and the average order value increased 2.75

percent.

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again. It pays to test.

13

WPwhitepaper

Most profitable way to show price


10. Scaricity Motivates Customers To Buy

If a person thinks there’s a limited window to take advantage of a particular offer,

they are more likely to make an impulsive purchase right now. That's the theory

behind the marketing strategy known as 'scarcity' and one of our clients wanted to

test the effectiveness of scarcity on their ecommerce site.

The company used Monetate technology to run an A/B test on product pages on

their retail website. This test affected the pricing information to the right of the

product image on select product pages.

In version A the visitor saw "Today’s Price" with no scarcity indicator. In version B

scarcity was injected by Monetate with an added line that read "Offer Ends in..."

followed by a timer that began counting down as soon as the visitor landed on the

page.

14

WPwhitepaper

Todayʼs Price:


The result? Scarcity, as supplied by the counter down in version B, proved to be a

winner, although not an overwhelming one. Version B increased Average Order

Value only slightly (by 0.07% to be exact). However, for a large online retailer such

as our client even this margin of improvement in AOV proved to be a “million-dollar

campaign.” In other words, it generated incremental revenue of more than a million

dollars.

15

WPwhitepaper

Scarcity increased average order value

Version A Version B

Retail Value: $60.00Our Price: $49.75Todayʼs Price:

$41.16You save $8.59Shipping & Handling: $6.72

Retail Value: $60.00Our Price: $49.75Todayʼs Price:

$41.16You save $8.59

Shipping & Handling: $6.72


11. Shop By Size Is A Success

An online retailer’s goal should be to make shopping easier for its customers. Help

them find exactly what they’re looking for before they click away from your site.

Monetate’s goal is to help you help them.

Monetate created a “Shop by Size” widget to help our client’s customers connect

more quickly with the clothing that will fit them.

The widget yielded a 4.54 percent conversion rate lift and an incremental revenue

of almost $30,000 for the duration of the test.

16

WPwhitepaper

Monetate tested the efficacy of including a

“Shop by Size” widget on the righthand side of the

clientʼs homepage.


The ability to quickly and easily test out new ideas, like our client’s desire to include

the “Shop by Size” function, is one of Monetate’s most valuable -- and versatile --

features.

17

WPwhitepaper

Test out new ideas FAST


12. Try Different Testimonials

Customer testimonials inspire confidence and strengthen loyalty. But not all kind

words are created equal. How can an online business tap into the customer voice

that best encourages its patrons to shop?

One of our clients used Monetate technology to test the effectiveness of three

different customer testimonials located under the site’s navigation. Each offered

free shipping and was measured against a control that also advertised free

shipping but was accompanied by the message, “Mother’s Day is May 8.”

The test was intended to determine which message resulted in the most favorable

shopping activity on the site.

Testimonial A

“This is an absolutely fantastic site. I love their enormous selection of items,

including the many high quality brands...” Dave Mattson, New York

Testimonial B

“I stumbled upon this site from an ad on another web page. I’m sure glad I

registered. I have enjoyed it immensely...” Johnny Wiles, Atlanta

Testimonial C

“I have had very good luck with everything I have ordered off your site. Thanks...”

Rhonda Jameson, USA

Good thing they decided to test, because the results were staggering. Testimonial

A was the resounding winner, earning our client an incremental revenue of

$147,110.

18

WPwhitepaper


13. Video Converts Better

Because online shopping lacks the tangible experience that accompanies shopping

in a physical store, retailers have to showcase their products online in the most

effective way that they can.

But what proves to be effective can differ for every company. The only way to know

for sure is to test.

A major online retailer used Monetate technology to run an A/B test on its product

pages.

19

WPwhitepaper


In version A only a photo of the product accompanied its description. In version B a

video of the product accompanied the details. The main difference between the

two, at first glance, was the large orange play button on top of the product image.

Initially, management at the company believe the video version would be a flop.

Why? It was thought that the large orange button obscured the product too much,

and would confuse visitors.

However, as often happens with testing, initial guesses were proved incorrect. The

video version was more successful, lifted conversion rate by 1.26 percent and had

a revenue impact over $800,000. If you have the opportunity to find out for sure

which strategy is the best, why not take it?

20

WPwhitepaper

21

Learn about the successes our clients have had with Monetate,

from conversion rate lift to increased average order values,

revenue growth, improved customer acquisition, and commercial

websites that simply work better.

customers.monetate.com

Read More Stories

Our growing series of short videos answers questions about

Monetate’s many features and reveals how testing and

targeting works when you’re using Monetate.

Video Archive

videos.monetate.com

If you are ready for a personal demonstration to see how

Monetate can improve your website call us at 877-monetate

or fill out the form on our website.

demo.monetate.com

Request a Demo

Learn why many of the world’s largest websites use Monetate:

1-877-monetate | www.monetate.com | facebook.com/monetate | @monetate951 E. Hector Street | Conshohocken, PA | 19428

©2011 Monetate, Inc. All rights reserved.

As the leading independent provider of testing, targeting, and personalization for websites, Monetate helps major consumer brands deliver personalized

content and offers to different traffic segments. And we do this while eliminating IT from the marketing process.

Everything that Monetate does is enabled by a single tag that you cut-and-paste onto your site, no IT resources required. With that one simple action

Marketing can bypass IT and access Monetate’s unique marketing optimization features from A/B testing to product badging and geo-targeting of promotions

and messaging.

learn more about monetate!

Technology

GDS International - Next - Generation - Retail - Summit - US - 4